Digimon: Tamers Series 2 (a fanfic)
by XNightbornX
Summary: I love Tamers. Favorite season. It made me so sad when they didn't continue it. I also liked the idea that something as popular as the Digimon card game would have affected kids all over the world... And thus, my fic. All the details are explained in the preface, but basically it follows a group of American Tamers 4 years after the original. T for language and violence. May change.
1. PREFACE

**Preface – The Beginning of the Beginning**

**Greetings, Goggle-heads!**

**I do not own Digimon. ;_; If I did, Tamers would never have ended…**

**Ok, to break it down – I FUCKING LOVE TAMERS. I know lots of people rag on it for going off on a tangent, but you can't deny the badassery – and how all of the characters have equally redeeming and non-redeeming qualities. So – to break down why I love Tamers:**

***Epic battle scenes. Terrifying as shit. Dark and creepy and TV Y7 my ass. Not for the faint of heart. **

***Makes you reevaluate your morals and understanding of good and evil. Characters are more realistic – showing different sides to their emotions, how their characters develop. Causes you to think deeply about what it means to fight, to be friends, and to forgive. **

***Epic Digivolution sequences, and DigiModifing is so much cooler than Digi-Armor Energize. CARD SLASH! **

***MOTHER FUCKING BIOMERGE. SO EPIC. XD Words can't describe how awesome it is when the Tamers can fight with their partners as one.**

***HENRY AND TERRIERMON! :D SO FUCKING MUCH LOVE.**

**But, anywho… **

**This fic follows some American Tamers dealing with the Digital issues of New York, 4 years past the original destruction of the D-Reaper. (Making, according to my sources, Takato, Rika, Henry, Kenta, Kazu, and Jeri 16, Ryo 17, Suzie 8, Ai 8 and Mako 7.) Well – the psudo-destruction. It was merely sent back to the digital world in a weakened state. We'll be running into all our old friends soon, I promise. (Mostly because it can't be Tamers without Takato, Henry, Rika, Guilmon, Terriermon, Renamon and the whole gang.) (I'm gonna fuck with the timeline and say that it's 2010ish). (I might later do another fic about the Tamers all over the world dealing with the original D-Reaper outbreak, but for now I want T/M and cursing and sexual innuendos that won't ruin my childhood by applying them to 12/13 year olds). So momentai and enjoy!**

**One more thing: Who do you think is narrating? I can't make up my mind, so tell me whose voice you imagine… I was thinking maybe Izzy or Kari?**

**Also: I'm totally writing out what the animation would look like for the opening, Digivolutions, Digi-Modifications, and Bio Merges. Play Tamers theme with this image for the opening. I tried combining elements that I liked from the Japanese opening with ones I liked from the English one (this would go a whole lot faster, but I'm trying to put in all the little details, cuz I have no life and then I realized it was really long. TT_TT):**

**A teenage brunette girl in a Doctor Who t-shirt is riding on a bus when she suddenly looks out the window. There is a mysterious shadow looming over the street. She pulls a card from her pocket that flashes blue for a moment before getting off the bus. Next we see a blonde girl in a Led Zepplin t-shirt walking down the street. She turns her head suddenly, noticing the shadow as well. She flips open her card holder, and the one on top flashes blue. A tall boy in a windbreaker jacket on a moped pins a card to the handlebars. This card also flashes blue for a moment. Another boy – a ginger teen in thick glasses and a Marvel Comics shirt – is running up the steps from a subway, pulling a card (that – you guessed it – flashes blue) from his pocket. We go back to the first girl. With a deep breath, she flips the card over her fingers and slashes it up her red Digivice. The screen splits and shows the other girl slashing the card down her purple Digivice as if she were strumming a guitar. The boy in the jacket tears his card across his silver Digivice like a sash. The last boy crosses his heart with his card as he pulls it through the blue Digivice. The image begins to flick between various battle scenes with Felimon, Boamon, Spinymon, and Shikomon, as well as the teens. The picture goes to a tall dark-haired teenager fanning a bunch of Digimon cards in his hand. His other hand briefly goes to his pocket, revealing a glimpse of black before the image changes again to show a bald man with a lumberjack's beard sitting in front of a computer. On the screen is a sonar-like image that fades into a black-spiral looking vortex. The picture changes again: now we see Felimon in front of a Digimon that looks like a feline-esque street fighter, in front of a quadruped, jaguar-like Digimon. In the back is a shadowy bipedal figure. The outline of Felimon and the first girl passes in front of it and the screen changes to Boamon, who stands in front of a large, silver, anaconda-like snake, who stands in front of a huge quetzqotal-esque Digimon that appears to be covered in steel. In the background is a shadowy figure of a woman with her hair whipping in the wind. This image is broken by the outline of the second girl with Boamon draped over her shoulders walking across the screen. The next image shows Spinymon, who stands before a Digimon that resembles a pangolin, and behind him is a Digimon that looks like platypus. In the back is a shape that looks like a suit of armor. An outline of the first boy is running towards an outline of Spinymon, who brofists him. They turn and run off the screen. The last image shows Shikomon who stands in front of an impressive looking deer, which stands in front of a qilin. In the back is the shape of a samarai. This image is interrupted by the outline of Shikomon booking it across the screen, trailed by the outline of the ginger boy. We show all 5 teens pull on shades of some kind – the ginger boy's glasses grow darker and Shikomon meets up with him, the second girl puts on Lennon shades with Boamon is draped over her shoulders, the first boy pulls a pair of mirrored aviators over his eyes as Spinymon peeks his head out of his backpack, the first girl pulls on some goggles while Felimon perches on her shoulders. The last boy puts on a pair of shades and fans out the cards to each of the others. As they grab them, the screen shows more scenes of their Digimon in various forms kicking ass. They run towards the shadow, into a fog. Digimon logo.**

**…I have no life… XP. Is it sad that I've been working through the storyboard and am actually considering animating it?**


	2. Episode 1: A STRANGE ENCOUNTER!

***Opening***

**EPISODE 1: A STRANGE ENCOUNTER!**

"HELLZ YEAH, GO OMNIMON!" Clover Gardner fist pumped the air. True, she'd seen the movie before – several times, actually – but it just never got old. And she was aware that she was _so_ going to jail, but she'd also downloaded pretty much all of Season 1 from the computer, as well as the first three movies (with English subtitles, the way anime is meant to be enjoyed) and had begun her downloading of Season 2. She knew that the series finale was coming up soon in the run, followed by the 4th movie, but for now, Ken and Stingmon, with Davis and Vmon, totally kicked ass. And TK was hot. (Hey, it's anime – it's ok to think that way. She also found Matt quite attractive) ***I would like to say that I don't share Clover's views. My heart belongs to Izzy and Joe, as far as Series 1 is concerned. :P But TK is cute in Season 2. And Ken totally rocks. That is all…***

"Clover!? What is that noise!?"

"Oh, crap, crap, _crap…" _Clover quickly closed out of the window.

"Well!?" Her dad entered the computer room. Clover attempted to pull a miracle out of her ass.

"I was listening to music and an ad came on."

"Bull shit you were. You were watching cartoons again. Dammit, Clover! You're too old for this shit! YOU'RE 16, CLOVER. THAT'S TOO OLD FOR CARTOONS."

"It's ani-"

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP. Clover, one of these days you're going to have to grow up and live with the rest of us in the real world. Go to your room."

Once her father stomped out of earshot, she whispered "I call it research…" How could she ever become a great animator without watching great animation?

'Clover, you need a real career. This… drawing thing… sure, it's cool and all, but there's no way you'd ever be able to actually make any money out of it.'

'In a couple years, you'll grow up and realize that the whole cartoon-thing isn't feasible.'

Clover shook the memory from her head. She needed to get out of this house.

"I'm taking the dog for a walk," she called, putting on her rain jacket. She closed the door softly before kicking the brick on the side of the building. No use getting grounded for slamming the door.

"Come on, Tubs. You need this as much as I do…" she clipped the leash to her astronomically obese wiener dog and trotted down the stairs.

Once she hit the street, she aimed herself in the general direction of Central Park. She'd never make it there before she had to turn around, but there was a small dog park partway to it.

She kicked a rock. She started sophomore year at a new high school tomorrow. A different one than any of her friends were going to. _Brilliant, Mom and Dad_. _Let's tell her not to be a social outcast, and then set out to guarantee that she's a social outcast. The president should ask them how to fix the economy, too._ She continued kicking the rock. _Let's tell her that she has to fit in, and dump her in a place where she'll stand out_. She kicked the rock harder. _Let's tell her all the reasons she'll never have any friends, and then expect her to go out and fucking make some. _She gave the rock one last very good kick, landing it in the middle of a pot-hole puddle. Tubs was whining.

"What's the matter, you fat old mutt?"

She looked up. The air seemed… different. Strange and foggy.

"Oh, boy. Have I wandered into a stale riot zone? I'm probably breathing in leftover mace. Not good for a person…" she saw a couple of shapes in the distance. What was going on there? She tied Tubs' leash to a light post, clipping her bike chain around it.

"Stay." She ran off towards the figures.

Hec Rodrigues watched from a tree. Who the hell was this chick? Another Tamer? No – if she was one, her Digimon would be with her. He tapped his watch. Where the hell were the others? He'd called them and told them that there was a situation here. They needed to get their asses over here, before that Champion did any damage…

Clover came towards the figures, who were in the middle of the dog park. The closer she got, the more obvious it became that they weren't human.

"Why would you defend this world? You're not even bound to a human, pathetic little thing…" the larger of the two figures, a sort of fire man, threw flames at the smaller figure.

"Because I seem to be the only one who gets that if this world dies, ours does, too." A creature that looked like an orange tabby cat with a boxing glove on its tail dodged. "PEBBLE CLAW," it shouted, leaping at the fire monster.

"No fucking way…" Clover muttered as she realized that _Maramon _had just thrown another _Digimon_ to the ground.

"You might be brave, Felimon," he said, giving the Digimon a kick, "but you're weak and stupid." He loomed over Felimon, threatening to incinerate her…

"Hey, dickface!" Clover hollered, chucking a rock, "Why don't you pick on someone you're own size?"

"And who would that be, puny human?"

"Ah, shit." Brilliant, Clover. Just fucking prodigious…

She clenched her fists. No backing down now. Part of her still didn't even believe this was happening…

"You heard me, ugly. Come here and fight a fellow biped. Unless you're scared a girl is going to whoop your ass…" Clover picked up a branch from the ground.

"I stand corrected, Felimon. _This _is the stupidest creature I've ever met.

Hec's eyes widened. What the fuck was this girl _doing?_ If the others didn't get here soon, that girl, that Rookie, and this block were toast… burnt toast…

"Hey!" Clover dug the stick in the dirt, flinging sand up into Maramon's face.

"Gah!" Maramon, caught off-guard, stumbled back a step.

"PEBBLE CLAW," Felimon dug the claws of her tail-paw into Maramon's back.

"Why, you…" Maramon turned back to Felimon. Seeing her chance, Clover grabbed another rock.

"I HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU FOOLS." Maramon shouted, knocking the two back with a blast of heat.

"You're the fool! The power you seek… you sure as hell won't gain it this way!" Felimon stumbled to her paws, growling at the Champion.

"It was proven when the Darkness first fell! Everything in both worlds is Data, and the Data of a human is worth 10 times what I could ever get from a Digimon like you!" Maramon blasted Felimon back. Felimon lay twitching.

"You are an idiot! Gaining power will only provoke the Darkness, the D-Reaper!"

"I SHALL DESTROY IT! It only became so strong when it rose last time because it managed to feed off a _human_! I will ensure that it never becomes that strong ever again!"

None of this made any sense to Clover, other than this: it sounded BAD. And it didn't look good for Felimon… the cat-like Digimon was trying to protect her… and everyone, from the sounds of it…

"FUCK THIS." Clover stood, her fists clenched. "AND FUCK YOU. YOU'RE GOING DOWN." She grabbed a small recycling bin that was filled with water from the previous night's rain. She charged the creature at full speed, running on pure adrenaline, and threw the water as hard as she could. Although it only hit his legs, he seemed to be in pain. Felimon stood one more time.

"This ends now. TASTE MY ROCK FIST." Felimon's tail, now a large rock fist, smacked Maramon. With a scream, he fell over.

"Ah, yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Clover pumped her fist in the air.

"Thank you, human." Felimon stumbled towards her.

"Woah, there, buddy – you don't look so good…" Clover ran to Felimon, picking her up. "That was pretty cool, taking on that Maramon."

"All in a day's work…" Felimon began to become unfocused around the edges. She was fading away.

"Woah, woah! Hey, stay with me – you saved my life! Come on!"

Hec was clambering down from the tree. This girl and that Digimon need help, soon. That Maramon wasn't data yet… "Woah! Huh?" Hec's large card deck slipped from its holder momentarily, causing one card to fall from it. Hec watched in awe as the card was caught by the wind and zoomed towards the girl. He saw the regular trading-card design shimmer and turn blue. The wind directed it right to the girl, who caught it.

Suddenly a blinding flash of light appeared in front of Clover. "Huh?" She reached out, her hand closing around something cold and plastic.

Hec's mouth gaped. No way…

He saw Maramon begin to rise to his feet.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! SWIPE THE CARD!"

Clover glanced back. "Huh?"

"SWIPE IT!"

Waking up, Clover swiped the card through the strange device, causing a flash to emit from it. The flash spread to Felimon, whose eyes whipped open.

"HOLY SWEET DIGI-GNOMES." She jumped down. "Damn, I feel good! Wait a minute…" she glanced up at Clover, "does this… make us…?"

"HEY! YOU!" Hec ran out to Clover, a card in hand, "YOU'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET!"

"Huh?" Clover turned. "Ooooohhhh shit." Maramon was stumbling towards them.

"Take this! Swipe it!" Hec tagged the card into Clover's hand without stopping and charged his way to the other end of the battle.

"WHAT!?"

"SWIPE IT AND SAY DIGI-MODIFY."

"Uh…" Maramon's hands rose, prepared to launch a devastating fire attack.

"Ok, then!" she quickly swiped the card through the odd device in her hand. "Digi-modify!" she glanced at the card. "Power, activate!"

"Now _that's _what I'm talking about!" Felimon gave a fanged grin. "Listen here, Maramon. The Darkness must be stopped, but you're stopping it the wrong way! Even Zhuqiaomon no longer believes this is how to stop it!"

"THE SOVEREIGN ARE FOOLS. You are a fool!"

Felimon gritted her teeth. "I didn't want it to come to this…" she charged "ROCK FIST." She slammed her fist into Maramon with all her might. The Digimon gave a howl and burst into data. The fog cleared, revealing three figures running in the distance.

"HEC! We came as soon as we could!" A boy with red hair called. His transition lenses were fading back to glasses.

"Genius here got us FUCKING MUGGED. Boamon and Shikomon had to get us out of it!" Another girl pulled a pair of John Lennon shades from her eyes and put them in her pocket. Draped around her neck like a scarf was what looked like a bright green snake with silver spikes protruding down its back. It took in the scene with piercing dark purple eyes.

"Yeah! The guy had a knife and everything!" the third figure, who might have been a medium-sized dog, save for its two horns and light-blue fur, continued. "But then I made him squeal like a baby, so it's all good!"

"Don't worry, Hec – the guy thought Shikomon was a dog."

"Where's Shane?" the boy they called Hec – a taller guy with swooped dark hair and skinny jeans – glowered at them.

"He had to work, Hec, give him a break." The boy hit the ground panting. "Oh, jeezus, that was terrifying. I am sooo sorry I put you in that kind of danger, Val."

The girl, Val, had short boy-style cut blonde hair. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, River. This is New York. I've been running into muggers since I was 8." She turned to Clover. "And who's this, Hec? I thought we were the only Tamers in New York?"

"Tamers?" Clover was lost.

"She literally just got her Digivice. You missed all the action. It was awesome, you know, this girl was almost killed and this whole area nearly wiped out by an extremist Maramon. It was a real party." Clover sensed major sarcasm in Hec's voice. He didn't seem like the kind of kid who stayed happy very long… if he ever got happy at all, that is…

"Um, hey, uh, Hec, right? Val? River? Um…" Clover glanced from the three kids to the three Digimon to her Digivice. "What the hell's going on here, exactly? Digimon _Tamer? _I, uh… I mean, this is awesome, but…"

"That thing – that Digivice," Felimon pointed to it with her tail, "makes us partners. We get to fight together and protect the worlds from the forces of Darkness!"

"It makes you a Tamer." Val walked up to Clover, her hand held out. "The name's Val. This is my partner, Boamon."

"How do you do?" Boamon asked. Her voice, oddly, sounded like that of a soprano opera singer.

"I'm Clover. Um, ok, I suppose…"

"I know, it's weird. When I first met Shikomon, I freaked."

"You freaked when you saw your fist hobo, River."

The ginger kid blushed and buried his face in his hands.

"And yet you're always so confused when your reports come back 'Doesn't play well with others.'" Boamon chided.

"Oh, fine. That's River, he always freaks. But he's right – this will seem a bit odd at first. But, um, I mean… You apparently know about Digimon. It's just like the card game…"

"Uh, I don't… play the card game. Or the video games." Clover laughed softly to herself. "Nowadays they seem a little hard to find, anyway…

Val sighed. "Well, catching up's going to take more time then we have right now. Where do you go to school?"

"Morreson High."

River grinned. "Finally! Luck's on our side!" He grinned. "That's where we go, too! We can meet her in John's office tomorrow."

"Uh… who?"

"Just go to the computer lab during lunch tomorrow." Hec sighed, turning and walking away, muttering something about 'Shane', 'duty', 'fucking n00bs', and 'get a starter pack'.

Clover looked around, unsure what to do.

"Hec's just… got some problems, is all. Trust me; you'll warm up to him." River turned. "Come on, Shikomon!"

"You gotta catch me first, River!"

"Shikomon, no! Not now! It's getting dark; we have to head home! Shikomon…" River ran after the bounding Digimon.

Val sighed. "It's hard to believe River's been a Tamer just as long as I have…" she shook her head. "I'd better go get him, or else he'll get raped…" she and Boamon waved goodbye before running along after the others. "See you tomorrow!" She called, leaving Clover alone.

"Uh… wait, what?" Clover called. Not getting an answer, she turned and walked back towards the light post, where she found Tubs asleep. She glanced behind her. Felimon stood by her feet.

"Um… why are you following me?"

"Well _duh! _We're partners now! We have a sort of unbreakable bond. It's special, and you can't kick me out like some stray animal!"

"Um… sure, but I doubt my parents will be ok with it…"

In a trance, Clover walked back to her house. Somehow Felimon got in without being noticed. Her parents were happy she was home before supper and had gotten some exercise. She fell onto her bed, staring at her Digivice – it looked sort of like the D3s from Season 2, but not quite. It was framed in red and had a red clip. She attached it to her school bag. Felimon was hidden on her bookshelf, dozing peacefully. Clover allowed her eyes to drift shut…

**Wow. What's in store for Clover? Who are these mysterious 'Tamers'? Find out next time on Digific: Digital Fanfic!**


	3. Episode 2: MEET THE TAMERS!

**Previously on Digific: We met this 16-year-old girl named Clover, who was a huge fan of Digimon! Her parents didn't really appreciate her passion for kids' shows, though. Upset, Clover took her dog on a walk, running into Maramon fighting Felimon. Felimon was getting beat pretty bad, so Clover stepped in to help, but that only got them into more trouble! Luckily, this guy named Hec was there and gave her a blue card to scan in her newly-materialized Digivice. Felimon, revitalized, defeated Maramon. Clover met these other two Tamers – Val and River – who told her to meet them in the computer office the next day. Just who were those kids?**

***opening theme* **

**EPISODE 2: MEET THE TAMERS!**

*THREEP! THREEP! THREEP! THREEP!* Clover punched her alarm clock and stretched, walking towards the bathroom. _What an amazing dream! _She recounted the dream in the shower. She'd fought a Maramon and gotten a Digivice and met this group of kids called the Digimon Tamers! It was amazing! She wrapped her towel around her. Maybe, just maybe, today wouldn't be so bad after all…

She finished getting ready and grabbed her backpack, heading out the door. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! I'll see you later!"

"Remember you take the bus to Green Street now!"

"I know, thanks Mom! I love you!" she trotted down the steps and waited by the bus stop. When it arrived, she dragged herself to a seat. Ugh. Her backpack was so heavy. But… today was her first day… her supplies weren't _that _heavy…

She unzipped her bag to see a cat with a boxing glove tail.

"Hey, turn out the lights! You get up too early…"

Clover quickly rezipped the bag. Still a dream. Still a dream. She needed to wake up now – she was going to be late for school. If she just squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again…

She checked the strap of her bag and saw the Digivice.

"No fucking way. No fucking way…" she looked over the Device. It had a small screen on the front and a slot for sliding cards on the side.

She glanced out the window as the bus slowed towards the Green Street stop. She stood and slowly walked to the exit.

It… it _had _to be a dream, right? Digimon weren't really real… were they? They couldn't be. They were a cartoon, a video game. They couldn't be real.

Why couldn't they be?

'Clover, it's about time you started living in the real world!'

Clover clenched her fists. Why _couldn't_ they be real? Who was to say they weren't? There was one in her backpack, wasn't there? She'd seen four in just one night! She had a Digivice! She'd met these kids who called themselves Tamers! They were real! Digimon _were_ real!

She walked towards the school, noticing Val and River walking with a scrawny, gangly kid with sandy blonde hair. She ran towards them, her backpack thumping along.

"Hey! Hey! Watch it! I'M STILL IN HERE! Ow, my aching head…"

Val turned, elbowed the gangly kid in the ribs and waved to Clover.

"Hey!"

"Hey! OHMYGOD, THIS ISN'T A DREAM!"

"I know the feeling!" Val called back with a laugh. As Clover got closer, she saw that Boamon was still draped around her neck. River carried a large cello case that wiggled and sneezed, and an echidna-like creature poked its head out of the scrawny kid's – who Clover assumed was Shane – bag.

"Shane, this is Clover. Her partner's Felimon."

Clover pointed to her bag. "She's apparently not a morning person."

"And Clover, this is Shane and his partner, Spinymon."

"Hey." Shane gave a friendly smile and a wave.

"I'm Spinymon, and this is my bitch, Shane."

"Spinymon, why…" Shane facepalmed.

"Because you are toooooootallly my bitch forever, Shane…"

"Spinymon, were you up on 9gag and MLIA all night? _Again?_"

"No – I was reading Scott Pilgrim comics, and only from like 11 when your wuss ass went to bed til like 6 when your wuss ass woke up."

"Oh, wonderful. He'll be quoting Scott Pilgrim all day now."

"No, Val – he'll be passed out in John's office. Come on – we'll show you where you can drop off your bag and other… important stuff…" Shane led the group into the school and down a hall to a door with a poster of the 'I Can Haz Cheezburger' lolcat on it.

"Yo, John – it's us anti-social weirdoes again!" Val called, opening the door. A bald man with an impressive beard greeted them from behind a desktop computer. Hec nodded from a corner, where he sat with a laptop.

"Ok, Spinymon, you'd better get some sleep." Shane said, opening his bag and letting a small-dog sized Digimon out. He stood probably about a foot and a half tall, and was covered down his back in long, wicked-looking spikes.

"Sleep!? HAH! Sleep is for the weak! I don't need sleep, I just need coffee!" Spinymon proclaimed before ever-so-gracefully passing out on a shelf of old keyboards.

River opened the protesting cello case, revealing Shikomon, who stood about three feet tall at the shoulder.

"Bout Goddam time, River! Do you have any idea how hot and cramped it is in there!? YOU DON'T EVEN PLAY THE GUITAR."

"It's a cello case, Shikomon."

"YOU DON'T PLAY _ANY_ INSTRAMENTS!" Shikomon ducked under a table and flopped over. "And you live too damn far away and wake up too Goddam early…

Val set Boamon down on a stack of laptops.

"Warm?"

"Mh-hm. Thanks, Val."

"No problem."

Clover took her cue and opened her backpack. "Hey, Felimon? You want to join the party?"

"Sure…" Felimon yawned, crawling out of the backpack. The bearded guy – John – stared.

"So there really _is _another Tamer… I wonder what that means. After all, the Digimon cards and games are beginning to go out of style, and it's been quiet for so long…"

"We've been hearing more and more mention of the D-Reaper and this Darkness. It sounds pretty serious." Hec clenched his fists. "However, not serious enough to COME WHEN I SEND A DISTRESS CALL."

"Hec, cool it. You don't need to go ragging on Shane…"

"OH YES I DO. Shane, I sent you A MOTHER FUCKING CALL last night about a MOTHER FUCKING CHAMPION LEVEL EXTREMIST. That girl's life was in DANGER! What the hell do you have to say for yourself!?"

Shane hung his head.

"Hey, hey, guys – Momentai!" John said, trying to quell the tempers.

"'Moment… I'? Moment you what?" Clover asked.

"Momentai. Like 'Hakuna Matata' – 'Don't worry', 'chill out', or 'calm down'. Something an old teacher of mine used to say."

Hec crossed his arms. "'Don't worry'. Right. Excellent advice when we're a bunch of kids in way over their heads. Now I have to train two n00bs, and one of us thinks getting minimum wage from a Walgreens is more important than the fate of the world!"

"Hec, that's enough!" Val yelled as the first bell rang. She sighed. "We need to get to class. We'll meet back in here for lunch, when there's more time to talk, ok? Alright."

Clover left for her first class. There was no way she'd ever be good at this. That entire conversation may as well have been in Portuguese…

"So, four years ago, Digitamers from around the world helped the Japanese kids force the D Reaper back to the Digital world." Val was explaining.

"An unexpected effect of the wormhole was a sort of rewind factor – it was as if the Digimon and D Reaper never existed on Earth. That's why everybody who didn't have direct contact with a Digimon slowly forgot about it. It was probably for the best, actually. And we hadn't seen a Digimon since." John said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Until, that is, about a year ago." Hec continued.

"Portals began opening everywhere. Some Digimon who had been forced back returned. Some who'd never been to the real world also Bio-emerged. Some were good and some were not-so-good, and these three became Tamers." John waved to the three kids, taking a sip of his Mt. Dew.

"Sure, there've been Digimon, but it didn't start getting busy til about a month ago…" River glanced at the Digimon, who were gathered around a computer, laughing at funny cat pictures and stuffing their faces with random parts of the kids' lunches.

"And now you're here." Hec finished. He pulled something from his pocket. "Here. Standard starter pack, two booster packs and a deck holder. You'll need them for battle."

Clover glanced around the room. What had she gotten herself into now? The way Hec talked about it… saving the world… It was too big for her. How could she ever be a Tamer?

"Hey – you'd better not flake out on me. I'm sick of being the only girl here." Val called Clover from her thoughts. The girl smiled at her.

Clover smiled back, her hands closing around the deck. Hey, these 4 did it. How hard could it be?

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Ok, breakdown of the team – River, Shane, and I are the response crew." Val continued, "John tracks when Digimon emerge from a Digital Field. Hec is our master-strategist, card keeper, and all-around kick-your-ass-in-gear-guy." Val shrugged. "Our family's not what one would call 'normal', but…"

"One might not call a group of real Digimon 'normal'." Clover laughed. She flicked through her cards. "What do these mean?"

"Modify cards are pretty straight-forward." Hec chuffed, never looking up from his home-packed fruit salad. "Modifications are written on the cards themselves."

"Oh." She thumbed through the cards. They seemed like what she'd seen in the anime, sort of. _Energy, Speed, Power…_ these cards all gave boosts to the attack, stamina, speed, or health of the Digimon. _Tentomon's Super Shocker, Digmon's Drill, Gomamon's Marching Fishes…_ these cards gave that special attack to your Digimon. _Aero-wings, Alias, Decoy… _these cards all had other affects. But she could see how some of these modifications could be attacks and how this could fit there and… Ugh, trying to split them into categories was too confusing. Each card said what it did already.

"I'm sure you'll pick it up soon enough." Shane smiled.

"Thanks. This is just… So cool…" Clover grinned. She was sitting in a room with real Digimon and real Digimon Tamers. And she was one of them!

"Don't let it go to your head. This isn't a cartoon where we all go around spreading peace and love through the Digital World and all that bullshit. This is real, and it's dangerous. If you don't think you can handle it," Hec shot a burning glare at Shane, "Then get out now."

Clover thought of that Maramon. What would have happened if Felimon hadn't stopped it? Would it have attacked the entire block? Or the street? Who's to say it wouldn't have tried to burn all of Manhattan?

She glanced back at Felimon, who was impersonating Monorail Cat, and the other Digimon, laughing and having a good time.

Were they really all that stood between Digimon like that Maramon and the rest of the world?

"Well?" Hec brought Clover back to reality.

"Of course I'm in. New York's big, so you'll need all the help you can get." Clover grinned determinedly.

"Oh – one more thing…" Val dug in her messenger bag before pulling out a pair of aviator goggles. "Until you can find your own style," she tossed them to Clover, "Trust me – eye protection is a must when entering a Digital Field."

On cue, the others all put on their shades (except for River, who sat awkwardly and pointed to his glasses). Val wore a pair of John Lennon-esque hippy shades, Shane a pair of mirrored shades that made him look kinda like someone from Starsky and Hutch. Even Hec threw on a pair of shades like the famous pair in CSI Miami.

"Don't expect a pun and a 'YYYEEEEEAAAAHHH!' when Hec puts his shades on," River told her, "He punched me the last time I suggested that."

Clover looked at the kids in front of her. Grinning, she pulled the goggles over her eyes. _HELLZ YEAH, GOGGLES! LIKE TAI AND DAVIS!_

"So, meet back in here tomorrow over lunch?"

"Yep. Also," Hec glared into Clover's eyes, "Keep your Digivice on you at ALL TIMES. You'll never know when you might be needed."

"Will do."

Clover went into her room and closed the door softly.

"You'd better be doing homework, Clover – I mean it! If I catch you drawing your little pictures again, I'll ground you from your room!"

Clover sighed. "You any good with Algebra, Felimon?"

"What's Algebra?"

"Exactly."

"Val! VAL!" Val glanced up from her literature assignment and smiled at her younger brother. "What do you want, Squirt?"

"I can't pass this level on Guitar Hero," the 7-year-old complained, "Can you do it for me?"

Val's smile broadened. "Watch and learn, Squirt."

She laid her Shakespeare down next to her song book and guitar on her bed. She was trying to pull a song from Julius Caesar, but wasn't having very much luck. Sure, she needed Act IV read by tomorrow, but it could wait until after some Guitar Hero…

"Through the Fire and Flames?" Val confirmed, setting Boamon down on the couch arm.

"I get half way through and then I can't finish the solo." Val's brother, Tyr, flopped down on the couch and pouted.

"Don't set the score too high, Val – I wanna be able to beat it!"

"And once you do," Val chuckled, hitting play, "I'll set one double that!"

"So this is the latest ultrasound?" Shane gazed at the picture with wide eyes. The fuzzy white blob of scratchy little echo feedback… was his niece or nephew!

"Mm-hm. Pretty cool, huh?" his mom hung the picture up on the fridge. "Your sister's only got a few months left…"

Shane smiled and gave his mom a peck on the cheek.

"I'm off to work," he called on the way out the door. With him, he carried a backpack that squirmed ever-so-slightly.

As he stepped out the door, Shane ran into his dad. "Hey, Dad – I'm going to work. Mom has Shawna's newest ultrasound. See ya." He ran down the stairs to his moped, fastening his helmet on. He revved up the little engine and started towards Walgreen's.

"Spinymon – stay out of my co-workers' lunches this time."

"Hey! That Georgia lady actually brings food, instead of microwavable soup every day. It's not my fault that I enjoy actually eating."

"How was school today, River?"

"It was fun, Mom. There's a new girl in our class and Val's good friends with her already."

"That's nice…" River's mom trailed off. River twirled more spaghetti onto his fork. He should have never mentioned Val. Just the very sound of her name was enough to make his mom tense and edgy…

"Um – I got a 95 on my US History exam!"

"Wow! That's fantastic, River! How about we stop at DQ for some ice-cream? My treat."

River let out a slow breath. Val was forgotten for now, and tonight he was getting a Blizzard! He could just imagine Shikomon's face when he'd bring him half of a Snickers Blizzard…

"That sounds great, Mom."

"Thanks for letting me crash at your place again, John." Hec flopped down on the bachelor's futon.

"Anytime, bro, anytime." John answered, pulling a box of Chinese food from the fridge.

"How's your mom doing?" John asked. Hec ignored the question, digging into his leftover cold pizza. "She know you're here?" Again, silence. John sighed and put a Resident Evil movie into his Xbox. "If you want to watch it you can, if not, you can take my bed and I'll have the futon for the night.

"Thanks, bro, but I think I'll just crash. I've got a test tomorrow."

"Ok, then. Night, Hec…" John watched the 17-year-old close the door to the bedroom. He sighed.

Hec sat on the bed, running his fingers over the scars that traced up his arms. He needed to do something to deal, but… he'd made a promise that he wouldn't cut anymore. A promise that he would never even think of breaking.

Hec bit down on his cheek. This way was kind of better, he supposed – no scars for people to question about. But it still wasn't the same. He curled up on top of the blankets in only his jeans. This was going to be a long night if he couldn't sleep…

Thankfully, he felt himself drifting off. He closed his eyes, welcoming the warm darkness.

**Huh. I wonder what's up with each of the Tamers' lives. How do you get grounded from your room? Why is Val writing a song about Caesar? Who names their son Tyr? Why does Shane work constantly? What's River's mom got against Val? And who exactly is Hec, and what's his relationship with John? And why are there suddenly so many more Bio-emergences? Tune in next on Digific: Digital Fanfic to find out!**


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